Corrugated-wire articles



March 8 1927. 1,620,403 R. P. souTHcoMB CORRUGATED WRE ARTI CLES Filed Oct. '7, 1925 l" "lm-ll mill- Kil Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CORRUGA'IED-WIRE ARTICLES.

Application led October 7', 1925.

This inventionl relates to improvements in articles made of crossed corrugated wires, such as waste baskets, and other baskets used in offices, lire guards, fenders, and the like. lVire articles of this description are moved about, and are often placed temporarily upon desks and furniture by janitors in` cleaning. rooms, with the result that the floors and furniture become scratched by the lower edges or bottoms ofr` the articles. Also, as usually. constructed, the ends of the crossed wires at the upper edges of the article, such as a basket, are bent around a larger wire which forms a rim and these l5 ends of the crossed wires are apt to cut the hands of persons handling` the article.

The object of the present invention is to provide articles of this kind, having corrugated wire bodies, with rims which will `enclose the upper ends of the wires and which may be readily attached to the bodies, and also to provide bases for the articles which enclose the lower ends of the crossed wires, and which are provided with strips of non-metallic material, for preventing the articles from scratching floors and furniture when moved about.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a receptacle embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the upper part of the receptacle, the rim being partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-8 of Fig. :2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side view of the lower part of the receptacle, the base flange being shown partly in longitudinal section;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and,

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a portion ,of the base flange.

Referring to the drawing, ci represents a receptacle, in the form of a waste basket, having a body 1 composed of crossed wires which are usually corrugated so as to interlock with one another. The upper rim or edge of the basket is composed of a metal strip bent into the form of a tube 2 and provided at spaced intervals with longitudinal slots 3, these slots being arranged opposite the seam or joint 4 in the rim. The wires 5 of the. body cross the wires 6, and, as ordinarily constructed, these wires are corrugated so as to interlock with one another. The wires 5 and 6, a short distance above Serial No. 60,999.

their crossing points 7, are bent over in" turned ends of the wires through the. slots, the end portions of the wires are sprung out of line with the main portions thereof sufficiently to permit the overturned ends 5a and 6a to pass through the slots, and when these ends have entered the tube, the wires spring back into their normal positions andv the overturned ends project over the ends of the slots and lock the tube to the wire body. With this arrangement, the ends of the wires are concealed from View and covered so that they cannot scratch or injure the hands of persons handling the receptacle.

The lower end of the receptacle is provided with a metal flange 8, substantially U-shape in cross section, as shown in Fig. 5, and spaced slots 9 are formed centrally in this flange along the line of the bend. The lower ends 5b and 6b of the wires 5 and 6 are bent in opposite directions and are eX- tended through the slots 9 into the interior of the flange in the same way that the upper ends of the wires are extended into the tubular rim. The flange thus becomes locked to the wire body and the ends of the wires are housed within the flange. A strip 10 of non-metallic material, such as felt, leather, rubber, or any substance which will not scratch furniture or floors, is inserted between the sides 8*@L of the base flange, and these sides are pressed against the strip to hold it in position. Preferably, the sides of the flange are indented, as shown at- 8b, at suitable intervals, these indentations interlocking with the strip 10 to securely hold it in position. The strip 10 projects below the lower edges of the base flange so that the strip directly engages the floor, and the metal flange is ordinarily out of Contact with the floor.

It will be evident that any receptacle or other object having a wire body and provided with a rim and base flange such as described can be handled without danger of injury to the person from contact with the ends of the wires; also, that the object may be moved about on floors or furniture without fear of scratching the same, and that the rim and base flange can be attached to the wire body firmly and economically in the manner described above. While I have shown the invention applied to a Wire basket, for the sake of illustration, lit is equally applicable to other portable articles having crossed corrugated Wire bodies such as are used for ofiice and household purposes.

That I claim is:

l. A portable article of the class described comprising a Wire fabric composed of crossed relatively movable corrugated Wires and a hollow metal housing for an edge of the fabric, said housing having longitudinally spaced slots, said wires terminating adjacent corresponding crossing points and the adjacent ends of oppositely directed Wires being bent in opposite directions and two of said oppositely bent ends being then inserted into each slot in the housing, said ends thereby interlocking with the housing adjacent the ends of the slots.

2. A portable article of the class described comprising a Wire fabric composed of crossed relatively movable corrugated Wires and two hello7 metal housings for the opposite edges of the fabric, one of said housings being tubular and the other U-shaped in cross section, and both of said housings having longitudinally spaced slots, said wires terminating adjacent corresponding crossing points and the adjacent ends of oppositely directed Wires being bent in opposite directions and tivo of said oppositely bent ends being then inserted into each slot in said housings, said ends thereby7 interlocking with the housings adjacent the ends of the slots, and a strip of non-metallic material clamped between the sides of the U- shaped housing and extending beyond its edges.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature.

ROBERT P. SOUTI-ICOMB. 

